Tag Archives: high school reunion

First an update on my sister: she had been in the hospital in New Hampshire for five weeks, and just got transferred to a hospital in Massachusetts to better serve her needs. She has an infection in her organs and blood that stemmed from her liver — as it turns out it is not liver cirrhosis (whew!) — and has had blood transfusions, swelling and numbness in her limbs. It’s awful, but she is hanging in there, and my father is frequently calling me to update me. Thank you all for your warm thoughts, virtual hugs and prayers.

You could say I’ve been pretty busy since I’ve returned from New Hampshire. On my plate right now are MotherTalkers, MomsRising, Moms Clean Air Force, and a translation project that is a doozy. Here is my latest article at Moms Clean Air Force, in which I draw statistics from my translation project. Thankfully, all of my work and interests are connected!

And if you have not already signed up at Moms Clean Air Force, PLEASE DO and TAKE ACTION. There is an important vote coming up that could possibly weaken the Clean Air Act. If your child has never suffered an asthma attack or other serious respiratory illness, chances are s/he has been partly spared due to this important piece of legislation. Pollution in our physical environment is the one area we moms cannot control alone. We need government regulation to help us.

In other pressing news, my MomsRising colleague Monifa Bandele just interviewed the sister of Troy Davis, who is slated to be executed this Wednesday in Georgia on very flimsy evidence. No physical evidence has linked him to murder, and seven of the nine eyewitnesses have recanted their testimony. One of the two eyewitnesses who have not, include the alleged suspect. Scary.

Thankfully, my husband has shown zero interest in attending any of his high school reunions. Here is a funny — and sad — blog post at BlogHer about a mom fretting about what she will wear and look like at her husband’s 20th high school reunion. I thought Facebook was supposed to take away some of the anxiety, and even replace, the high school reunion? LOL! Do you still go to yours? How about your spouse’s?

First Lady Michelle Obama has said that the Red Lobster and Olive Garden have agreed to reduce calories and sodium by 20 percent over 10 years as part of an initiative to promote healthier eating, according to FOX News.

I am back with your weekly parenting news update. Here are some topics we recently discussed here at MotherTalkers:

An expectant mom at the Mamasource newsletter in Berkeley recently complained that her husband does not read any parenting books and is being insensitive to what she is experiencing during pregnancy. While I could sympathize with her plight, I agreed with posters who said she will have no control over how her husband bonds with the baby. Their relationship will be unique, apart from hers. That said, what are your favorite parenting books for dads? What other tips would you offer dads-to-be?

We also discussed class reunions. Would you or have you gone to your 20th high school class reunion? Stefania over at the 40 Whatever blog gave a host of reasons why she didn’t go. Facebook, anyone?

This is a depressing story. We discussed the difficulty for college graduates today to find work. Even worse, they are swimming in credit card debt and student loans, according to an article in MSNBC.com. Do you have children graduating from college this year? What do they plan to do?

Straight from the bizarre story file: A 50-year-old mother in England doled out $15,000 for plastic surgery to look like her 29-year-old daughter, according to ABC News. The story, by the way, includes before and after shots of the pair. If I were the daughter, I would die.

We re-visited a regular theme at MotherTalkers: What is sleep and how can we get more of it? After years of waking through the night, I found it difficult to sleep through the night even after my kids did. I tried a lot of things like melatonin and taking a warm bath before bedtime. This is what has worked for me: Exercising every morning and establishing a regular bedtime, cutting out caffeine and alcohol except for special occasions and avoiding the computer and TV right before bedtime. Otherwise, I find myself tossing and turning throughout the night or wide-awake at 3 a.m. and waking up in a vile mood. What other sleep tips do you have?

And in case you haven’t noticed, MotherTalkers has undergone a facelift. Please do continue to tell us what you think.